In the B2B world, partnerships are everything. Channel partners are often your front line—distributors, resellers, dealers, or agents who bring your product to the market. But what happens when they’re just not prioritising your brand? When they stock your competitor’s SKUs just as readily, or push other solutions more aggressively than yours?
This is the heart of the channel engagement pain point. And it’s a silent killer. Your sales numbers might look steady, but the missed opportunity—the lack of advocacy, the shelf position you didn’t win, the deals you weren’t top-of-mind for—can quietly undermine your growth plans.
At its core, channel engagement refers to how invested and motivated your channel partners are in promoting, selling, and supporting your brand over others. In a cluttered B2B environment, your product might be one of a dozen they could recommend. Engagement is what determines whether they lead with you—or leave you behind.
Channel engagement is not about availability. It’s about priority. It’s about belief, alignment, and momentum. If your channel feels indifferent, disengaged, or disconnected, your brand becomes a backup option instead of a preferred solution.
This challenge is particularly relevant in sectors like manufacturing, technology, auto, agriculture, and building trades, where channel partnerships drive a significant portion of sales—and where those partners often have competing incentives, limited shelf space, and demanding customers of their own.
When channel partners are unmotivated, misaligned, or unclear on your brand’s value, the impact ripples through your entire sales ecosystem. And while this challenge can be frustrating, it’s also an opportunity. Identifying that you have a channel engagement issue is the first step toward transforming passive partners into proactive advocates. But how do you know if your channel is truly disengaged? Let’s explore the signs.
Channel disengagement doesn’t always come with flashing warning signs, but if you’re seeing any of these indicators, it might be time to rethink your approach:
If your product isn’t the one they naturally recommend—or even remember—you’re missing out on first-choice advantage. Disengagement can mean your brand is offered only when a customer specifically asks for it.
Your products are stocked, but they’re not moving at pace. This is a warning sign, usually signaling that your partners aren’t actively championing your solutions.
You may have provided sales sheets and product training, but if that knowledge doesn’t translate into excitement or confidence, your partners aren’t equipped—or motivated—to prioritise you.
If your competitors are running incentive programs and you’re not, or yours aren’t as compelling, you’re at a disadvantage. Incentives often drive behaviour in indirect sales environments.
These signs are more than just red flags—they’re indicators of untapped potential. In B2B environments, partners have limited time, attention, and sales bandwidth. If your brand isn’t providing compelling reasons to be their go-to, someone else will. It’s not always about product quality or price point; often, it’s about ease, enablement, and motivation. A disengaged channel is rarely a malicious one—it’s usually just under-inspired or under-incentivised.
But identifying the issue is only half the challenge. The next step is taking deliberate, strategic action. Improving channel engagement means shifting from passive hope to active enablement. So how do you start turning that around? By asking the right questions—questions that align partner performance with your business goals and uncover how to build a channel that’s not just aware of your brand, but fully bought into its success.
Solving the channel engagement issue requires more than just better communication or additional training. It demands a strategic reframe—one that incentivises the right behaviours and rewards loyalty, advocacy, and performance.
Use the following questions to guide your internal conversations and program design:
1. What behaviours do we want to drive among our channel partners?
Start with outcomes. Do you want them to lead with your product? To increase cross-selling? To push a new product line? Understanding the specific behaviours you want to influence will help you design the right incentive structure.
Read more about behaviour-driven program design in our B2B Customer Loyalty Guide.
2. Do we make it easy and rewarding to sell our brand?
If your partner experience isn’t frictionless, engaging, and rewarding, your competitors may already be outpacing you. Consider whether your sales process is simple, your support is responsive, and your rewards are desirable.
3. How are we recognising top-performing partners today?
Recognition is a powerful engagement tool. Are you celebrating high achievers with leaderboard visibility, exclusive incentives, or even travel experiences? If not, your partners may not feel like part of your brand story.
Explore how recognition works in our Sales Incentive Program approach.
4. Are we collecting the right data to measure and improve?
Channel engagement should be measurable. Use reporting to identify participation rates, reward redemptions, sales trends, and partner feedback. If you’re not already tracking this, you may be missing the opportunity to optimise.
Discover how data helps drive better outcomes in our Engagement Loyalty Model.
The right sales incentive program turns passive partners into passionate advocates. These programs don’t just move stock—they build brand preference.
A well-designed incentive program can:
Importantly, a great sales incentive program isn’t just about short-term gains. It can reshape how your channel partners perceive your brand—aligning their success with yours.
Channel engagement is one of the most overlooked competitive levers in B2B. When your partners are selling you over someone else, you’re not just gaining sales—you’re gaining mindshare. And that’s hard to buy without the right mix of value, incentives, and recognition.
If you suspect your channel isn’t selling you like they could be, don’t assume it’s because of price or product. Sometimes, it’s just about feeling connected to your brand’s success.
